Sales leaders spend too much time putting out fires that never should have been theirs to begin with.
Your team encounters a stall or a tricky client question, and your instinct is to jump in and resolve it. You’ve been on hundreds of calls. You know how to navigate decision-makers, neutralize objections, and steer toward the close. But here’s the problem: every time you rescue your rep, you also reinforce the belief that they can’t do it on their own. You become the crutch. They become dependent.
Now, you’re not leading a sales team, you’re leading a help desk.
Stop Solving. Start Coaching.
The most strategic leaders I know don’t solve every problem for their reps. They build a team of problem-solvers.
That starts with shifting when you coach. Most sales managers debrief calls like they’re reviewing game tape after the team already lost. The real leverage point is before the call when the rep is still shaping the strategy, setting expectations, and mapping the conversation.
We use the Pre-Call Planner to structure that thinking. It forces the rep to articulate:
What’s the purpose of the meeting?
What do they believe the client’s real “why” is?
What questions do they need to ask?
What questions are they likely to get asked?
This isn't busywork. It’s brainwork. It’s about teaching them how to slow down and think like a consultant, not a pitch machine.
If You’re Always the Brains, They’ll Never Grow Theirs
When sales leaders over-function, reps under-function.
The hard truth is that learned helplessness creeps in fast. If your people believe that you’ll always jump in to clean up the mess, they won’t build the muscle to manage it themselves.
Instead, hold your reps accountable for how they think, not just what they close. The Call Debrief Tool gives you visibility into their thinking after a client conversation:
What new information did they uncover?
What red flags did they miss, or catch?
What do they plan to do next?
Used consistently, these tools reveal patterns in how your team is making decisions, qualifying opportunities, and managing risk. They also give you the leverage to coach strategically, not just tactically.
Your Team Needs Thinking Time, Not Just Talk Time
We all want our reps to be more proactive. But proactivity is an output of strategic clarity. And that clarity doesn’t come from doing more; it comes from thinking better.
Coaching is how you help your team think better.
Not by giving them answers, but by asking better questions:
“How do you know that’s the real issue?”
“What’s the risk of moving forward right now?”
“What’s the worst question they could ask you in this meeting, and how would you respond?”
These are the kinds of questions that help reps move from script-readers to strategic advisors. That’s where real client trust is built, deals grow faster, and margins stay intact.
The Bottom Line
Strategic alignment doesn’t come from solving your reps’ problems. It comes from enabling your team to solve client problems independently, with rigor, intention, and accountability.
Coach before the call. Debrief with purpose. And shift the expectation: you’re not here to rescue; you’re here to raise the bar.
Need help getting your managers out of rescue mode and into coaching mode? Let’s chat. We’ll show you how to implement the tools, cadence, and coaching questions that drive real behavior change.
